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Did the USGA Overdo It with the Knee Drop?

MattyDMPLS said:
I don't want someone that just hit it in the water to have the perfect lie, but I also don't want to feel like I am squatting to drop the ball. Not everyone is going to be happy with new change, but it seems like no one is happy with this.

Dropping from waist height should have been the way to go.
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Waist high or between knee and waist would have accomplished what they set out to occur.
 
JMB3 said:
Unless you have T-Rex arms like me, haha! Just measured: 8.5 inches from finger tips to knee cap. :(

I think some of the awkwardness comes in because you also have to drop it off to the side so it doesn't hit you. I think between knee height and waist would accomplish the intended goal (less drop/drop/place situations) and remove the awkwardness of the drop. But that's just me. :)
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9.5 inches here, and about 11 once I curl fingers enough to pinch the ball I'm dropping. I agee, just changing it to between waist and knee solves both the awkwardness and the drop, drop, place time suck. I hope they make the change.
 
Knee height or higher would solve most of the problems, though there will still always be complaints.
 
Did the USGA Overdo It with the Knee Drop?

wadesworld said:
Knee height or higher would solve most of the problems, though there will still always be complaints.
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There will be. That’s the nature of rules and laws. Although there is not a single reason in the world for this, that isn’t solved with better wording and allowables.
 
What if it was belt or waist height, with physical restrictions above the knee cap and below the belly button.
The ball can roll outside the drop area, as long as it touched the ground within and did not end up closer to the hole.

First part less awkward and second part cuts out the re-drop and place.
 
Yes. The real problem is the penalty assessed if one doesn't drop from the exact height required.
 
Pretty damn silly change...like they didn't even try it out or do a proof of concept, which wouldn't be surprising.
 
JB said:
If knee height is allowed, should they have not just said drop from any height above the knee? What are your thoughts on how the USGA handled this rule change?

The Old Rule
When taking a drop, a player must stand erect and hold the ball at shoulder height and arm’s length when dropping. A drop in any other manner is a one-stroke penalty.



The New Rule
New version states that a player’s only requirement is that the ball must be at knee height when dropping and must not touch any part of a player’s body or equipment before hitting the ground.
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I like it. I am 6'5" and never cared much for the shoulder drop as the ball ended up usually bounding too far away, lol
 
JB said:
If knee height is allowed, should they have not just said drop from any height above the knee? What are your thoughts on how the USGA handled this rule change?

The Old Rule
When taking a drop, a player must stand erect and hold the ball at shoulder height and arm’s length when dropping. A drop in any other manner is a one-stroke penalty.

The New Rule
New version states that a player’s only requirement is that the ball must be at knee height when dropping and must not touch any part of a player’s body or equipment before hitting the ground.
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From what I understand (from a guy who is a rules official at PGA events), they made the change at least partly because when dropping from shoulder height there was a good possibility that the ball would roll too far away twice and the player would then get to place their ball in a preferred lie. The change to make it knee height was meant to curb that, so if you allow anything above knee height it doesn't address the issue.

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Jman said:
Coaching HS kids, it’s hilarious to watch them taking awkward knee drops.

I know in a couple years it’ll be second nature, but, I think they wiffed on this one.
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So in 1984 the drop rule was changed from dropping over your shoulder to our "old" rule of extending your arm to drop. If social media was around then do you think there would be this much bitching and moaning about that rule change?

Unfortunately today I had to take 2 drops and it was very simple to drop at knee height. Quick and painless even though the both lies sucked after the drop.
 
olperfesser said:
Yes. The real problem is the penalty assessed if one doesn't drop from the exact height required.
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But there is flexibility. The knee itself is 4-5 inches in height as it is a rather large joint. The rule states “knee”, not “knee cap”
 
mski said:
So in 1984 the drop rule was changed from dropping over your shoulder to our "old" rule of extending your arm to drop. If social media was around then do you think there would be this much bitching and moaning about that rule change?

Unfortunately today I had to take 2 drops and it was very simple to drop at knee height. Quick and painless even though the both lies sucked after the drop.
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Nope, I don’t, mainly because shoulder height doesn’t make all golfers look as uncoordinated as dropping from knee height does.

It should have been worded from knee to shoulder, easy peasy.
 
Yes, they should’ve made the new rule be knee height or above.


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I've seen it mentioned before, maybe even in this thread (just skimmed through it). But, what I've found dropping from knee height so far is that the ball just wants to embed into the rough. When I dropped from my shoulder, the ball carried enough momentum to bounce off the ground and create a more natural result. From knee height, it appears the ball is going right through the grass and nestling down leaving some iffy lies so far. That could change as the grass comes back from being dormant over the winter.

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It's Dumb.

Hopefully this gets reviewed and changed.

Personally I don't care because when I drop I just drop. I'm sure it confuses some people who play in Leagues or actually play in tournaments.
 
Yes, the drop should be eliminated completely and change it to "place the ball".
 
I think all of this hubbub is just proof that nobody likes change, and people will complain regardless of what the change is.
 
Wake said:
I think all of this hubbub is just proof that nobody likes change, and people will complain regardless of what the change is.
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I'm kind of with you here, I don't see what the big deal is.
 
But what I'm wondering is how exact are they treating "knee height." Are they allowing the same 6" to 8" as they did with the shoulder height?
 
Why did the rule need a change? I still haven’t gotten a good explanation on that yet.

On a personal level I think it’s a silly rule change, I don’t see what difference it will make in the grand scheme of things.
 
Trout Bum said:
Why did the rule need a change? I still haven’t gotten a good explanation on that yet.

On a personal level I think it’s a silly rule change, I don’t see what difference it will make in the grand scheme of things.
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The justification was the ball would bounce a lot causing a redrop. The lower drop point was so the ball would stay within the legal drop area and require fewer drops to get the ball back in play and reduce the times the ball needs to be placed.

Considering most amateurs dont drop in accordance with the rules (more than 2 clubs away from a lateral hazard/relief points) I would say the rule has failed since now every drop on tour requires a rules official
 
Yes they screwed up the drop and a few other things over the years. I have very little faith in them and no longer support them in any way. I'll play by their ridiculous rules because that is our only option.

All of their decision making is based on the professional players who only make up 0.01% of the worlds golfers, while the rest of us (99.1%) get screwed. They could screw up a train wreck.
 
I honestly have no idea why its been such a big deal. Pretty straight forward and not that hard to do.....
yes they should have said anywhere from knee to shoulder height, but they didn't. oh well. i saw it as more of what most AMs do anyways. ball in the pocket, and when you cant find your ball you tend to just pull it out and toss on the ground.

Best way to do is ball out in front of you and bend forward.... easy. no matter if you have short arms or long legs haha. doesn't look awkward
 
I don't follow this rule, a crime I know, I just drop the ball from arms length like I always have.
 
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